ABOUT LAST NIGHT
by Remedios25
Summary: Sam and Daniel fic. Sam's biological clock is ticking, and as a certain cliche says: 'desperate times call for desperate measures', Sam decides to take matters into her hands... and wackiness ensues.
1. ONE

Authors: Remedios and Alley  
  
Rating: Probably R because I have never written anything below that.   
  
Pairing: Sam/Daniel - NEW ROMANCE CATEGORY   
  
Spoilers: Sometime in season 7 but before 'Chimera'  
  
Summary: Sam's biological clock is ticking, and as a certain cliche says: 'desperate times call for desperate measures', Sam decides to take matters into her hands... and wackiness ensues.   
  
Feedback: The more the better. Makes me write faster.   
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. Sadly. *pouts*   
  
Warnings: It's not rated R for nothing. Strong sexual context is a must in this story. Some strong words, but nothing to explicit. Loads of nudity, partial or otherwise. *evil grin* Consider yourself warned.   
  
Notes: This is my first S/D. I had this idea for a loooong time. Just recently decided to write it down. Hope you like. Ok, enough of my rambling. Go. Read. Knock yourselves out.   
  
Big, BIG thankyous to my beta and my newest best buddy - ALLEY!! *stands up and applauds* She glued this puppy together. She is truly the best beta ever! Mucho thanks Alley! I'm dedicating this one to you. You rock! Don't you forget it! *mwah*   
  
*** *** ***   
  
CHAPTER 1:  
  
She woke up with a horrible pounding in her head and groaned as a sudden dizziness overwhelmed her when she tried to sit up.   
  
"Oh Dear God, please stop the world, I'm getting off" she muttered holding her head.   
  
Everything around her was spinning, her head felt like a swollen balloon and she felt her stomach rebelling, trying desperately to get rid of last night's contents. Perhaps even mistakes that she made. Her stomach turned again as she tried to remember what happened. If she didn't get up and go to the bathroom right now, she was afraid that she might have a nasty reminder of what she had, and she was sure it wouldn't taste as good coming up as it did going down.   
  
She tried again, this time succeeding in sitting up and felt a sudden chill run up her spine. Shuddering a little, she wrapped her arms around herself and froze immediately. This was not right. This was actually very bad. Bathroom emergency forgotten, she swallowed loudly, took a deep breath and looked down.   
  
"Oh crap." She cursed under her breath. She again tried desperately to search her brain for what happened the night before. The only answer was the churning of her stomach and the pounding headache. One hand flew up to her head and massaged her temples the other held onto her stomach, willing it to stop the rebellion.   
  
Wrapping the sheet from the bed around her loosely, she took in the surroundings. The bed was definitely well slept in ... there was evidence that the other side had been slept in as well.   
  
This definitely did not look good. Looking around the room, she noticed some familiarity but she couldn't exactly place it. She unsteadily walked around, trying desperately to will herself to remember, but the more she tried, the worse her headache got. Her slightly panicked state wasn't helping either. She stopped in the middle of the room, closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths.   
  
The feeling of the room spinning hit her like a ton of bricks. She felt as if she were on an endless ride on the tilt-a-whirl. Flashing lights, loud sounds, and spinning. Her eyes flew open immediately.   
  
"Oh, the spinning. God." She groaned to herself nearly having to put her hand over her mouth.   
  
"Ok, one thing at a time. I need clothes. Then I can deal with the sledge hammer and the tilt-a-wirl," she looked down at herself. "Yes, I definitely need clothes." As if answering her, her head began thumping even harder. "Oh be quiet, I'll give you an aspirin in a second."   
  
She looked in the obvious spots: the floor near her bed, the floor in front of the closet, nothing turned out, not so much as a sock. Unable to find anything to wear. What the hell did I do with it? She wondered. She adjusted the sheet around her body and took a deep breath, she opened the door to the bedroom.   
  
"Here goes nothing" she muttered to herself and walked out of the room.   
  
Years of training and expecting the unexpected could not have prepared her for what she was faced with next. She stopped dead in her tracks and the grip she had on the sheet loosened dangerously as she took in the view in front of her.   
  
There, in the kitchen, with his back turned to her was Daniel Jackson, having his way with her pots and pans. But what really made her gasp was not the fact that it was him in her kitchen, it was the fact that he was in her kitchen, barefoot and shirtless, clad only in jeans which hung loosely on his hips.   
  
She had a quick flashback of the very same dressed Daniel as he was leaning against the frame of the bathroom door, the top button of his jeans unbuttoned, a hot cup of coffee in one hand, watching her taking a bath. She saw herself turn her head towards him and she lifted her suds-covered hand and motioned him to come closer. He smiled lazily, pushed himself off the frame, and walked towards her.   
  
"Holly Hannah" she said out loud and immediately her hand flew to cover her mouth.   
  
He turned to face her when he heard her behind him. "Hey Sam." He said, and when he flashed her with one of his famous heart-melting smiles, she promptly squealed.  
  
He looked absolutely gorgeous. His hair was mused and was sticking out in funny angles and he had a slight five o'clock shadow. She hadn't even realized how much he's changed physically during that 7 years she's known him. He's always been hiding under those three sizes bigger uniforms and she has always seen him as this vulnerable, scrawny and innocent archeologist. Years in SGC must have toughened him up. He's developed a nice, broad chest and shoulders, and his arms were loaded with muscle - a visible effect of Jack's training. All in all, he looked nothing like the man she's met 7 years ago on Abydos. No wonder the nurses in Janet's infirmary were fighting each other over the privileges to assist Dr. Jackson. He was a real hottie!   
  
"Sam?"   
  
She was pulled out of her thoughts by a slightly amused Daniel. She realized that she was holding her breath and he was obviously waiting for her to say something. Was it her turn to talk?  
  
"...What?" She managed.  
  
He chuckled.  
  
"I said how are you this morning." He asked again and noticed her blushing furiously. He'd noticed her looking at him, all of him, and he couldn't help but smirk at the thought that Major Samantha Carter was checking him out. He decided to play with her a little, puffed his chest out, and crossed his arms over his chest, flexing his muscles visibly. Her eyes traveled to his chest and he was rewarded with a barely hearable groan.  
  
"I... I... ah..." Her eyes widened comically when she heard herself speaking, or rather babbling incoherently and she shook her head in amazement. That was not a good idea, because as soon as she did that her headache returned and she groaned loudly.  
  
Damnit, Major! She scolded herself, pull yourself together! It's JUST Daniel. Your best friend Daniel. Your JUST A FRIEND Daniel.' She thought to herself. But then another thought entered her mind. The suspiciously messed bed, the fact that her clothes were missing, and Daniel, her JUST FRIEND Daniel, was disturbingly comfortable parading half naked in front of her, showing off his sculpted body. A body she might have been really up close and personal with the night before. OK, this definitely is the right time to start panicking. She thought.  
  
She unconsciously tightened the sheet around her body when he walked up to her. She smiled apologetically when he noticed.   
  
"Are you OK, Sam?" He asked.   
  
She tried to look anywhere but at him.  
  
"Yeah, I'm excellent!"   
  
His risen brow told her that he wasn't buying it.   
  
"I'm good really."   
  
He straightened himself up to his full height, crossed his arms on his chest and furrowed his brow. This new pose momentarily distracted her. Damn it Daniel. Stop doing that! She mentally scolded him.   
  
Seeing that it was no use lying to him she sighed and lifted her eyes to him.  
  
"Next time you see me with a drink in my hand you have the full authority to kick my ass. No questions asked."   
  
"Next time, I will make sure there won't be a next time," he responded with a chuckle and noticed with a pleasant surprise that she was blushing.   
  
The color from her cheeks spread gently down her neck and her bare shoulders. She has a beautiful, delicate skin, he thought absently.   
  
A moment of uncomfortable silence passed between them. 'When did it become uncomfortable with Daniel?' She asked herself.  
  
Sam noticed Daniel's questioning look and began to fidget a little.   
  
"I, ah, made some breakfast." He snapped back to attention and stepped back from her then gestured to the kitchen where he was previously making himself busy. "Something easy on your stomach," he quickly added when she paled a little.   
  
Thankful for his quick change of subject she padded after him to the kitchen sat at the table and observed as he was making himself busy in the kitchen. When he brought her orange juice and some toast with jam she smiled and thanked him. He sat down across from her and watched her eat. She tried desperately to remember how did she get into this situation.   
  
She felt his eyes on her, watching her carefully and she put down her juice and spoke.   
  
"Listen, Daniel. I, ah, want you to know that I am so very sorry for whatever I might have done or said yesterday."   
  
"Yeah, you told me that yesterday, on the answering machine?" When he received a blank look he let out a chuckle, leaned closer and continued. "You don't remember, do you?"   
  
She lowered her head.   
  
"I'm sorry," she mumbled.   
  
He reached out across the table and covered her hand with his.   
  
"It's ok."   
  
He caressed her hand with soft strokes of his thumb. She was confused. She had no idea what she was supposed to do. She didn't want to hurt his feelings by pulling her hand away, and she didn't really wanted to either. It felt nice. She looked up to find him watching her carefully, and she smiled.   
  
"Well, let me tell you a story then," he said squeezing her hand gently and then pulling back. "Once upon a time there was this beautiful young blonde maiden and she had a plan." 


	2. TWO

CHAPTER 2:  
  
THE DAY BEFORE:   
  
Loud ring of the telephone ripped through the soft music playing in the background, and Daniel lifted his head from the research he was so engrossed in. He contemplated about answering it but decided against it, burying his head back in the research. The answering machine picked up after the fourth ring.   
  
"Hey Daniel, this is Sam. I, ah, I guess you're not home…"  
  
Daniel quickly reached for the phone. "Sam?"   
  
"Daniel?"   
  
"Yeah, I'm here. I was, ah...working. Is there something wrong?"   
  
"No! Nothing's wrong. I was just, ah… "  
  
"Sam, are you ok? Is everything ok?"   
  
"Eh, never mind. This is a stupid idea. I'm sorry for dragging you from your work."   
  
"No! Sam, wait! Where are you?"   
  
**click**  
  
"Sam? Damn it." He lowered the handset and furrowed his brow. Sam was definitely not OK. He thought a little, then dialed a number. After a few seconds he hung up and grabbing his jacket he left his apartment.   
  
*** *** ***  
  
**ring… ring… ring… ring…**   
  
"Yeh. That's hello in Egyptian. You've reached Daniel Jackson. I'm sorry I can't come to the phone right now. Please leave a message and I'll make sure to get back to you as soon as possible. Seneb'ti, that's goodbye in Egyptian."   
  
**beep**  
  
"Hi Daniel, it's me again. I am on my way to your place, and I'm a little drunk. **giggle** Anyway, I just wanted to apologize for anything I might say or do tonight. Please forgive me. **sigh** "  
  
**click**  
  
*** *** ***  
  
He saw her sitting at the bar, a nearly empty drink in her hand, several other empty glasses in front of her. He silently prayed they were from others and not just from her. She was looking down into her glass, squinting her eyes a little and scrunching her nose. She lifted her hand with the glass she was holding and shook it at the bartender. The bartender sighed but when she gave him her death glare he cleared his throat, filled her glass and disappeared to the other corner of the bar.   
  
Daniel walked up to her and sat on the empty barstool next to her. He motioned to the bartender and then to Sam and a glass of scotch on the rocks appeared in front of him.   
  
"What is a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?" He started innocently.   
  
Sam lifted her head and was about to come back with a nasty remark when she noticed Daniel smirking at her, a glass of scotch in his hand.   
  
"Daniel," she sighed heavily. "What are you doing here?" She said a bit irritated.   
  
He raised his eyebrow a little.   
  
"It's good to see you too, Sam," he said and took a sip from his glass. He tried not to make a face as the burning liquid made its way down his throat. Beer he could handle. Scotch was another thing. A thing he definitely didn't do.   
  
She looked at him and noticed him grimace a little although he was trying very hard not to show it. She chuckled to herself.   
  
"This is so not you, Daniel."   
  
"What isn't?"   
  
"That." She pointed to the glass on the bar in front of him.   
  
"Well this isn't like you either," he said calmly.   
  
"I'm allowed to drink a little scotch now and them aren't I?" Her speech was starting to slur.   
  
"Sure you are. You just have to know your limits," Daniel said quietly.   
  
"Don't patronize me Danny Boy. I get enough Patronization from the General and the Colonel," she spat out angrily.   
  
Daniel winced visibly. Luckily, Sam didn't notice. "Ok, wrong way of dealing with this."   
  
"How did you find me?" She asked before he had a chance to come up with something else to say.   
  
"I star-sixty-nined you." He shrugged and took another sip, this time succeeding in not flinching.   
  
She laughed. "You are so smart." She tried to poke him in the chest but she nearly fell off her barstool.   
  
"And you are quite drunk." He finished for her. "Come on, let me take you home."   
  
She sighed and lowered her head. It started to hurt a while ago, but she didn't pay any attention to it. She knew she would have a hell of a hangover tomorrow, but she didn't care at this moment. All she wanted to do now is forget. Forget about today and scotch would help her do that. She turned her head to him and squinted her eyes. She knew he was worried. She could tell even in her inebriated state. She saw that he was watching her closely, probably thinking about what has gotten her to come in here in the first place. He was smart. He would figure it out soon. She was sure of it. What she wasn't sure of was the fact that he might not like it.   
  
"Yeah." She agreed, slapping him on the back a little too hard. "Let's go home, Danny."   
  
He helped her off the barstool and turned to the bartender to pay. She swayed a little when he let go of her, but his quick reflexes caught her in time. Her stomach rebelled against her and she visibly paled.   
  
"Oh God… I have to… I, ah…"   
  
He looked at her pained expression and nodded his head.   
  
"OK, let me just pay this…"  
  
"No." She interrupted him quickly. "I have to go NOW."   
  
Daniel looked from the bartender to Sam worriedly.   
  
"It's OK, I can walk by myself."   
  
"Wait for me outside. I'll be out in a second." He said, but she was already half way to the door. He watched as she stumbled out of the bar and turned to the bartender. "OK, how much?"   
  
It took a lot more time for him to pay the bill then he intended to. Apparently, Sam has had more than he thought. After about ten minutes of convincing the bartender to take his credit card, what kind of place doesn't accept credit cards? He thought. He finally paid the bill and practically ran outside.   
  
"Damn it!" He cursed loudly. It was pouring and Sam was nowhere to be found.   
  
*** ***  
  
Sam took a long sip of her coffee. She let the hot, almost too hot liquid go down her throat. She stared into her mug, watching the cream and the darker coffee swirl together almost wrestling, or maybe dancing. She couldn't believe she did what she did. Just how much did she have to drink last night? The pounding in her head was a good indication that she had at least 5 too many. It's one thing to drag herself into this situation, it was another to drag her best friend Daniel into it. She was snapped out of her pity party when she felt a breeze on her back and legs.   
  
"Uh, Daniel?"   
  
He lifted his head to look at her.   
  
"I, ah, I can't find my clothes." She mumbled quietly looking down on the floor, obviously embarrassed.   
  
"Oh, I took them."   
  
"Oh. You took them."   
  
"They were all soaked wet. I put them in the dryer."   
  
"Soaked wet?" She mentally rolled her eyes at herself. She was repeating everything after him like a damned monkey. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Why were they wet?"   
  
"Oh, you decided to take a little walk before I had a chance to get you home." He answered quickly. "And it had just started raining. Pouring actually." Flashing her a wicked grin, he finished matter-of-factly. "And, I learned something new about you."   
  
She looked at him sharply then, panicked expression on her face. 'Oh God.'  
  
*** ***  
  
He saw her walking down the street; her hair plastered to her forehead, hands in the pockets of her knee high length leather jacket. She was completely soaked. Not a single hair or thread was left dry on her. He stopped his car and walked out into the rain.   
  
"Sam," he gently touched her shoulder and she spun around startled. He quickly raised his hands in defense.   
  
"Daniel," she put her hand to her heart. "You scared me."   
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," he smiled. "Why didn't you wait for me?"   
  
She shrugged in response. When she did this her jacket flapped open, revealing the oh-so-thanks-to-the-rain-transparent-might-as-well-not-be-there white blouse underneath. Daniel coughed slightly to get her attention but she didn't notice. He tried to stay focused on her face. He knew however since the rain never ceased that was now as soaked as she was.   
  
"Come on, let's go before you catch pneumonia," he prompted but she never moved from her spot.   
  
"I love rain," she said instead. She tilted her head upwards and closed her eyes as the rain completely enveloped her. "I always wanted to make love in the rain."   
  
This sudden turn of conversation surprised him and he stood frozen to his spot.   
  
"Ah, pardon me?" He stuttered.   
  
She either didn't hear him or chose to ignore his last comment. "But it had to be pouring hard. Not just a little drizzle..." she continued.   
  
He tried to ignore her blatant remarks. He grabbed the lapels of her jacket and started to button it. She was still rambling, but he was still tuning her out slightly until she directly addressed him.   
  
"How about you Daniel?" She said stepping closer to him, pressing her body into his.   
  
"What about me, Sam?"   
  
"Did you ever want to make love in the rain?" Sam suggested trying to grab onto a lapel of his jacket but it slipped through her fingers.   
  
She must have been still drunk, he thought. But she looked surprisingly sober to him now. He took a tiny step away from her. It was just a small move, but it was enough for Sam to pick up on the fact that her advances weren't going to work.   
  
"Do you know why I was in the bar tonight?" She asked, slight hurt heard in her voice.   
  
A slight shake of his head answered her question.   
  
"I wanted to bring someone home with me."   
  
His eyebrows raised to his hairline and she laughed.   
  
"Do you know why I wanted to bring someone home?" Again, all she got was a head shake.   
  
" I was tired of being lonely, Daniel."   
  
"This is not a way to…"  
  
"I know it isn't. I might be drunk, but I'm not stupid." She sighed loudly. "I wanted someone in my life. I was tired of waking up alone in that huge house. I was tired of coming back from work to an empty place. I wanted something more… someone…" She choked on her words.   
  
He couldn't say if she was crying because the rain was washing her face from any sign of… She took a deep breath.   
  
"The plan was… " A loud gulp. "The plan was to fill that emptiness for at least this one night. And if I got something more out of it later, then that would be even better."   
  
"Something more?" He asked a bit confused.   
  
She looked at him guilty and lowered her head. He furrowed his brows as he tried to understand and suddenly it hit him like a ton of bricks. She was trying to… She wanted… Oh God!   
  
"Oh, Sam."   
  
"I'm sorry." She choked back on her tears.   
  
"But there are other ways to…"   
  
"I can't wait forever, Daniel!" She bit back angrily. "You know, I'm not getting any younger. And I don't want to be alone anymore!" She tried to explain her actions. "I thought, ah, I thought that this way I will have what I always wanted. And I'm ready. I really am." She pleaded with him to understand.   
  
"Yes, I understand. But Sam…"  
  
"But what? I didn't do it, did I?" She laughed bitterly. "You know what the funny thing is? DO YOU?!"   
  
He shook his head again.   
  
"The FUNNY thing is that no one even wanted to come over and talk to me. They were scared! OF ME!"  
  
She was hurting. And it tore him apart to see her hurting like that.   
  
"Tell me, Daniel. Please explain it to me because I can't seem to understand." She was invading his personal space, daring him to stare her straight in her tears filled eyes. He didn't back down from the challenge. "Tell me what is it that I do that keeps pushing men away from me." She stabbed a finger into his soaked wet jacket. "Tell me why every man runs away as soon as he lays eyes on me." Another stab. "Tell me…" A sob. "Tell me, why no one wants to love me. I have so much to give. I have so much…" She couldn't finish her sentence before she completely lost it. He quickly pulled her into him and she buried her face in his jacket.   
  
She cried softly into his jacket, the tears mixing in with the rain that already soaked his clothes. She wiped the tears off of her cheeks and looked at Daniel with awe. He came all that way to find her and what does she do to thank him? She yells, cries and acts like a five year old. She was surprised she didn't kick and scream as well. She knew what she had to do. She took a deep breath then began to tell the truth.   
  
"You know that I was actually on my way to your place when you came?"   
  
"You were?"   
  
"Yeah. Last line of hope and all that...." She noticed him blushing. She was almost tempted to run her hands under that wet t-shirt he was wearing. She licked her lips, then bit her bottom lip in indecision.   
  
"You know what Cassie told me today?" Daniel asked changing the topic quickly.   
  
She looked up at him almost as if coming out of a deep sleep. Cassie. She forgot about the little girl who was in Dr. Janet Frazier's custody. She was almost like a daughter to her. She smiled almost wistfully about Cassie.   
  
"What did she say?"   
  
"She was telling me all about how the two of you went kayaking last Friday. You should have seen her eyes light up when she described how you went down the rapids as if you were a duck. She told me she couldn't wait to go and do it again," Daniel said smiling that killer smile of his. He took her hand into his and they slowly walked to his car.   
  
"That was a lot of fun," Sam said lucidly and sat in the car seat and allowed him to tuck her legs in so that he could close the car door.   
  
*** ***   
  
Daniel stopped the car at the red light, and then he felt Sam's hand on his thigh.   
  
"I don't want to go home," she told him quietly looking him in the eyes. Please don't take me to that big and empty place, she added silently.   
  
He nodded in understanding and covered her hand with his. Squeezing lightly, he sent her a small smile and when the light turned green, he turned his car in the other direction. Not letting go of her hand, he drove to his place.   
  
END OF CHAPTER 2. 


	3. THREE

CHAPTER 3:  
  
Daniel fumbled with the keys to his apartment a little before he finally found the right one and pushed the door open. He stood aside to let Sam in first and walked in right behind her only to bump right into her.   
  
"Oh, sorry Sam." He apologized and squeezed past her into the living room.   
  
He disappeared in his bedroom for a second and reappeared with armful of fluffy white towels. He headed to the bathroom and second later a sound of running water could be heard. He came out of the bathroom and half ran to the kitchen where he started to prepare water for some hot chocolate. Sam stood in one spot watching him with slight amusement as he was running back and forth all over his apartment. He walked out of the kitchen and was about to disappear in his bedroom again when he noticed Sam watching him carefully.   
  
"Sam? Why are you still standing there?" He asked stopping for a moment in the living room.   
  
"I… I'm all wet, I don't want to mess up your carpet." She mumbled quietly.   
  
He rolled his eyes at her as he walked to her and started pushing her across the living room to the bathroom.   
  
"Come on, Sam. You need to get warm. Quick. You look like Bastet when she fell into my fish tank." He mumbled absently.   
  
"Bastet?" She asked watching him pouring a generous amount of bathing bubbles into the tub.   
  
"Yeah, the kitty I had in college."   
  
She raised her eyebrow. "You had a kitten?"   
  
"Yeah, one day I came to my room from classes and caught her on top of my fish tank, her paw inside as she was trying to catch Osiris – my gold fish. I must have scared her when I yelled because she literally jumped into the air and landed wrong and fell right in." He laughed at the memory. "God, it was hilarious. Of course I felt really bad afterwards, so I took her to Pet Mart and bought her some toys and a huge gold fish pillow to sleep on." Satisfied with the water temperature he straightened himself and pointed to her.   
  
"Now you, missy, are going to get in and you will sit here until I see you all pink and wrinkly." He winked at her.   
  
"But…"  
  
"Ah!" He silenced her with a finger. "I want to see wrinkles. And no pouting." He added when she did so. "Get in, I will come check on you in a second. Just yell when you need anything in the mean time."   
  
A few moments later he heard his name being called from the bathroom. He knocked on the door and peeked his head inside. He saw Sam standing just like he left her, fully clothed and very close to tears.   
  
"What's the matter?" He asked as he stepped inside.   
  
" I, ah, I can't…" She pointed to her shirt.   
  
He noticed for the first time that she was seriously shivering and she wasn't able to undress herself because of the numbness in her fingers. He nodded dumbly for a second before deciding how to handle the situation. He did not want to embarrass Sam further, but he was afraid they had no other choice. He stepped closer to her.   
  
"Sam, would you like me to help you with your clothes?" He asked carefully.   
  
She nodded and she probably would have blushed if her skin weren't so pale from the cold.   
  
He nodded again and stepped closer to her. 'OK, just breathe Daniel, and DON'T look down.' He told himself and proceeded to unbutton her blouse. Starting from the bottom he slowly worked his way up, his skilled fingers slipping the buttons through the holes of her blouse.   
  
He tried to keep his eyes directly on hers all this time, only dropping them down to her cleavage when he was unsure where the buttons were. When he was done with the last button, his hands slipped under her blouse and he heard her take in a deep breath. He felt the coldness of her skin underneath his palms as they wandered to her shoulders and down her bare arms, pushing the wet material off of her. It dropped to the floor with a splat.   
  
His eyes dropped to her cleavage and he found himself holding his breath. She was standing in front of him clad in a teeny, tiny scrap of lace she called a bra which was showing off her best assets, 'has to be one of those push-up bras' he noticed blushing slightly. And the fact that is was also soaked wet and therefore not really covering anything, wasn't helping him much. He groaned mentally and tried to look anywhere else besides her. His eyes landed on the stack of towels lying on the sink and he quickly grabbed one and wrapped her with it, successfully covering her up. That done, he moved onto the next task at hand: the pants.   
  
He looked at her uncertainly trying to figure out how to handle freeing her of it. He grabbed her hands and was still in shock of how cold she was. Her hands felt like two pieces of ice. He started to rub them together while blowing some warm air on it. He was really starting to be concerned for his friend.   
  
"I-uh do you think you can manage from here?"   
  
She shook her head no and he nodded in understanding. She at least stopped shivering but he was certain that wasn't necessarily a good sign. He looked at her pants and to his utter embarrassment, couldn't find a visible zipper anywhere.   
  
"Uh, Sam? I can't find the zipper," Daniel asked blushing furiously.   
  
"On the right side," she started to giggle a little. "I'm so sorry about this Daniel. I'm such a mess, I can't even undress myself properly." She signaled the end of her sentence with a powerful sneeze. "I'm sorry". She added rubbing the nose with the back of her hand.   
  
"It's fine Sam," Daniel said grabbing her hand and squeezed it gently.   
  
He then found the zipper of her pants, slowly unzipped them and slid her pants down. He had to tug on them because of the fact they were practically glued to her legs. He then pulled the towel around her tighter.   
  
He considered his next move: should he undo her bra and panties as well? The clasp looked tricky on the bra so maybe it would be a good idea if he did that.   
  
He bit his bottom lip in concentration as he tried to figure out his next action. He wrapped his arms around her and tried to unclasp her bra that way. It felt good to be this close to her. He looked up at her, their faces only inches apart, and he smiled shyly. He unclasped her bra and pulled it out from under her towel and it joined the rest of her clothes on the cold bathroom tile. He looked at her again biting his lip, unsure of what to do.   
  
"I think I can manage from here thanks," Sam said noting his uncomfortable look.   
  
"I can help you into the tub when you're ready," Daniel suggested.   
  
Sam nodded then shakily took off her panties. She walked closer to the tub, and Daniel stood next to her and grabbed her hand and she stepped in the tub and sat at the edge of it. She took off her towel and slipped into the hot sudsy water.   
  
"Well I'll be outside if you need me. Just call out."   
  
He left the bathroom and quickly headed to the bedroom. Once inside he pulled off his t-shirt and jeans and rummaged through the closet to find a clean pair. 'Damn, time to do the laundry again,' he muttered to himself absently. Finally he managed to find a clean pair of old worn jeans and pulled them on his still wet body. The whistling sound of boiling water reminded him of a hot chocolate promised to a certain blonde woman and he had to abandon the search for a clean dry t-shirt. Padding barefoot to the kitchen he quickly made the hot chocolate, topped it with mini marshmallows and headed to the bathroom.   
  
The door was left partially open but he knocked quietly anyway. Hearing no response he gently pushed the door open and saw her laying in the tub, her eyes closed. He was taken aback by the view in front of him. She was a true vision. Her face picked up some color and a soft pink blush appeared on her cheeks and spread down her long slender neck to her shoulders and disappeared under the strawberry suds. For a moment, he let himself think of what he was always denying and with a surprise, he realized that he could get used to this. Having her in his tub everyday watching her just relaxing. He smiled to himself at the thought.   
  
"Penny for your thoughts?"   
  
He was pulled out of his thoughts by Sam's voice. He looked at her and noticed her watching him watching her. He blushed slightly.   
  
"Only a penny? I don't think so. Those," he tapped his temple, "are worth much more than that."   
  
She laughed lightly. She was almost drifting off to sleep when she realized she was being watched. She opened her eyes and was greeted with the sight straight from heaven. Daniel was standing in the doorway, leaning on the frame and watching her with a far away look. He wore nothing but a pair of old jeans spattered with white paint here and there, the top button unbuttoned. One hand was loosely tucked into his left pocket, unconsciously pulling the jeans down a little; other was holding a cup of steaming liquid. She could not, for the life of her, remember when he started looking like that. She saw him smile to himself, his eyes sparkled a little, and she blushed. What was he thinking about? Was he thinking about her?   
  
"Penny for your thoughts?" She decided to pull him out of his private world.   
  
He blinked quickly and focused his eyes on her. She noticed with amusement that he was blushing. So, he was thinking of her! Why else would he be blushing? She laughed when he demanded more than a penny. She lifted her suds covered hand and motioned to him to come in. He smiled lazily and pushing himself off the frame, he walked to her.   
  
"I brought you some hot chocolate. " Daniel said as he showed her the cup.   
  
"Ohh! Gimme!" She said playfully and stretched out her hands to him. In doing so, she disturbed the strawberry suds and they spread out a little uncovering her small perky breasts.   
  
Daniel's eyes slid down from her face to her neck, then cleavage, and stopped on the newly uncovered flesh. He managed to keep a stone face and his eyes quickly found hers. She must have been either blissfully unaware of this little accident or was trying to seduce him, because she didn't do anything to cover herself. She grabbed the hot chocolate from his hands, shot him an innocent little smile and dove into the water, the bubbly suds surrounding her and covering her flesh successfully.   
  
Daniel let out a short breath he wasn't aware he was holding. That was close. For a minute there he thought he would lose it and just grab her and shake her until she realized what she was doing to him. He could be her best friend, but he was a man too. And men look. And they appreciate. And when their best friend flashes them, intentionally or otherwise, they can't help but run a few dozen of naughty scenarios in their heads. And so was he, and when he realized what he was thinking about, he mentally scolded himself for that. 'Oh, get a grip, Jackson. You act like a horny teenager.'  
  
He kept her company for a while and they talked a little, until the water in the tub started to get cold. He got up from the floor. She also made a move to get up, but succeeded only in sitting up before he stopped her form completely emerging from the tub. She furrowed her brows and pouted.   
  
"What?"   
  
"OK, Major. Stick'em up."   
  
He was rewarded with a blank look. He raised his eyebrows and motioned to her hands with his head.   
  
"Aaahhh. The wrinkles." She grinned and stuck her hands, palm-up for the inspection. He leaned a little and studied her fingers, furrowing his brows a little and making funny 'hmm' noises.   
  
She giggled when he poked her palm. "So what's the verdict Dr. Jackson?"   
  
"Yep, definitely wrinkled. You are free to move about the cabin." He answered. "Let me get you a towel."   
  
He grabbed the biggest one from the sink and opened it wide for her to step in. She stood up from the tub, water dripping from her form, still partially covered in suds and Daniel wrapped her in the towel, catching a brief glimpse of her nudity. She smiled her thanks and took a step out from the tub nearly falling on her face. Daniel's quick reflexes caught her in time and she found herself in his arms, barely inches away from his handsome face. A little dazed she looked up into his eyes and suddenly she became very aware of the position she was in. And so did Daniel. And when she leaned and slowly closed the gap between them, he told himself that this was definitely a bad idea, but the moment he felt her lips on his, his mind went blank. It was just a feather light kiss, a soft brush of her soft lips against his, and it lasted only a second, but it still burned when she pulled back a little. He was too stunned to do or say anything, and before he had a chance to process what had actually happened she kissed him again. His eyes closed on its own accord and he found himself pulling her closer to him as he returned the kiss with the same passion. Suddenly he realized what he was doing and he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back from him. Sam looked up at him in confusion, still gasping for her breath.   
  
"I can't, Sam. WE can't." He said.   
  
"You don't want me?" She asked bluntly, hurt evident in her voice.   
  
"No! I mean yes! I do!" He backpedaled quickly when he saw she was close to tears.   
  
"God, I do want to, Sam. You have no idea how much." He took her hands in his and looked her deeply in the eyes.   
  
"Then why…" She almost choked out the last word.   
  
"Because. Because you are not quite yourself tonight, Sam." He tried to explain his actions to her. "Because if I did... if WE did something tonight…" He thought carefully about his next words. "Look, Sam. Come tomorrow, you will probably not remember any of this, but I want you to know that I would never do anything to hurt you. When you wake up tomorrow, you will think that I used your, ah, fragile state and did something we would have never done under different circumstances."   
  
"I would never…"  
  
"Sam. You will not remember us having this conversation. No matter what you say tonight, come tomorrow, it will be your word against mine. I just don't want you doing anything you're going to regret in the morning."   
  
She nodded sadly and wiped the tears from her eyes. His heart was breaking for her, but he had to be strong. For both of them.   
  
"Hey," he said, lifting her chin up to meet her eyes, "I'm sorry Sam, I never meant to make you cry. I'm sorry." He said pulling her to him and wrapping his arms around her tightly.   
  
"'S ok." She mumbled into his chest. "It's my fault anyway. God, this is embarrassing." She groaned. "Thank God, I won't remember that tomorrow. I would never live it down." She tried to make a joke, but only ended up crying into his chest.   
  
"Shh… Don't cry." He tried to calm her down. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."   
  
He held her tightly, rocking her a little until she calmed down.   
  
"Come on, let's get you to bed. You had a really tough day. You need to sleep it off." He said, kissing the top of her head.   
  
He led her out of the bathroom and took her to his room. She flopped on his bed and adjusted her towel when it slipped a little.   
  
"Hold on, let me give you something to wear for tonight." He said from the closet, shuffling the hangers from one side of the closet to the other. "I really need to do the laundry," he mumbled absently.   
  
"Aha! Here it is." He exclaimed excited. "Here, you can wear…" he turned to her holding the clean shirt in his hand and noticed that she has already fallen asleep on his bed. "…this." He finished with a slight pout. He looked at the shirt he was holding and then to her towel-clad sleeping form. "Well, I guess you won't be needing this then." He said to himself.   
  
He walked to the bed, turned the covers and walking back to her, he took her in his arms and laid her down on a freshly turned bed. She mumbled something in sleep and cuddled closer under the covers and he found himself smiling. He leaned over her and moved a strand of hair from her face. His hand lingered a while on her cheek, caressing it gently and she unconsciously leaned into his touch.   
  
"Daniel…" She mumbled and his heart skipped a bit.   
  
Sam hugged the pillow closer and breathed in. "Mmm… it smells like Danny," she sighed then started to snore lightly.   
  
He placed a feather-light kiss on her forehead and cupped her cheek. "Goodnight Sammy." He said and after one more quick look he turned and walked out of his bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him.   
  
*** ***  
  
He dreamt about Sam. They were in the park together; it was a beautiful, warm sunny day. He was lying on the blue blanket, one hand folded under his head, other on his stomach, holding a book. She was lying crosswise on top of him, her head on his stomach, just below the book he was reading and she was staring into the sky. From time to time, she was pointing out the clouds, naming them and asking him about his opinion. Then she turned on her stomach and looked straight at him. He put the book away and smiled at her and she leaned over him and kissed him gently. He sighed into her mouth as her returned the kiss, wrapping his hand around the nape of her neck and pulling her closer to him. Her hands traveled up his chest to his shoulders, down his arms and then back up. He was in heaven. Her touch felt so real.   
  
"Daniel…" She whispered his name. He could swear he felt her breath on his lips. She ran her hand up his bicep. Then he felt it again. A definite touch. He opened his eyes as he woke up and saw her standing over him, tugging on his arm.   
  
"Sam?" He asked waking up completely.   
  
"I woke up… and you were gone…" She started. He sat up on the bed and took her hand in his.   
  
"Shh.. it's ok. I'm here."   
  
"I don't want to be alone tonight." She said barely above whisper.   
  
A slight tug on her arm as he pulled her into his bed was his only answer. She immediately snuggled closer to him and wrapped herself around his shirtless body. He reached out behind her, covered them both and wrapped his arms around her. She nestled her head in the crook of his shoulder and sighed deeply. He kissed her forehead and pulled her closer to him. He listened to her breathing for a short while until it became obvious that she has fallen asleep and he let himself fall into a slumber as well.   
  
END OF CHAPTER 3. 


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